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TOC \o "1-3" 1. Response to the Prompt of Research Ethics PAGEREF _Toc21557543 \h 3

1.1 According to the ASA, what are the ethical issues involved in this study? PAGEREF _Toc21557544 \h 3

1.2 Were there other ways of conducting this study that would avoid ethical dilemmas? PAGEREF _Toc21557545 \h 3

1.3 Would they have yielded the same information? PAGEREF _Toc21557546 \h 3

1.4 Should this study have been done? PAGEREF _Toc21557547 \h 3

2. Response to the Prompt on Alice Goffman PAGEREF _Toc21557548 \h 3

2.1 What are the issues with how she conducted her research? PAGEREF _Toc21557549 \h 3

2.2 Do all ethnographic studies face similar challenges? PAGEREF _Toc21557550 \h 3

2.3 How far should sociologists go in protecting the rights of their research subjects? PAGEREF _Toc21557551 \h 3

3. Response to the Prompt on Theoretical Perspectives PAGEREF _Toc21557552 \h 4

3.1 How would sociologists working from each of the theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict, and interactionism) analyze the education system in the United States? PAGEREF _Toc21557553 \h 4

3.2 What issues would they focus on? What kinds of questions would they ask? PAGEREF _Toc21557554 \h 4

3.3 Which of the perspectives do you think provides the greatest insight? Why? PAGEREF _Toc21557555 \h 4

1. Response to the Prompt of Research Ethics

1.1 According to the ASA, what are the ethical issues involved in this study?

Primarily, the activity of being a watch queen for the purpose of observing a stranger in the tearoom trade was illegal at the time it was conducted, i.e., 1960s. Moreover, the consent was not obtained from the participants to take part in the research study.

1.2 Were there other ways of conducting this study that would avoid ethical dilemmas?

Yes, the researcher could have taken permission from the men engaging in the desired activities at the public restrooms to take part in the study.

1.3 Would they have yielded the same information?

However, it would not have yielded the same information due to the fact that only a few people would have had agreed to take part in the study.

1.4 Should this study have been done?

From the ethical perspective, this study should not have been conducted in the manner it had been conducted. However, from the behavioral study viewpoint, this study is of considerable importance for the concerned researchers, practitioners and policymakers.

2. Response to the Prompt on Alice Goffman

2.1 What are the issues with how she conducted her research?

There is an element of bias in Alice’s study. She developed a feeling of sympathies towards the subjects (i.e., fugitives and arrestees) of her study who became her friends. Also, the study faces the issues of creditability and reliability due to the extent Alice could go in protecting the rights of her subjects.

2.2 Do all ethnographic studies face similar challenges?

However, most of the ethnographic studies are likely to face such challenges due to the fact that it remains difficult for the researchers to be non-participant in the study. Moreover, such studies are mostly conducted in a natural setting, where a lot of variables cannot be controlled.

2.3 How far should sociologists go in protecting the rights of their research subjects?

Sociologists have to go far in protecting the rights of their research subjects due to the fact that they need to protect their privacy and confidentiality. For instance, they must code the data once collected so that the research subjects can be protected from any abuse in the future.

3. Response to the Prompt on Theoretical Perspectives

3.1 How would sociologists working from each of the theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict, and interactionism) analyze the education system in the United States?

Functionalists would analyze the education system in the country from the viewpoint of an objective examination of social behavior. Sociologists working from the theoretical perspective of conflict believe that public schools do not play a positive role in reducing inequality among the public for their right to education. The interactionism viewpoint on the schools in the United States support the notion that interaction between pupils, and pupils and teachers must be encouraged.

3.2 What issues would they focus on? What kinds of questions would they ask?

Functionalists must focus on improving the social behaviors of all the concerned parties in the education system of the country. The conflict sociologists must focus on devising and identifying the manners in which the public schools can be helpful in reducing inequality. The interactionism must provide means to increase effective and efficient interactions among the parties concerning the education system in the United States.

3.3 Which of the perspectives do you think provides the greatest insight? Why?

In my opinion, interactionism provides the greatest insight in the education system of the country because it focuses on interactions among the pupils and pupils and teachers, which encourages social interaction and help enhancing the character building of the students.